Najla El Mangoush | |
|---|---|
نجلاء محمد المنقوش | |
 Mangoush in 2022 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
Suspended | |
| Assumed office 15 March 2021 Suspended: 28 August 2023 – present | |
| President | Mohamed al-Menfi |
| Prime Minister | Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh |
| Preceded by | Mohamed Taha Siala |
| Succeeded by | Fathallah al-Zani(Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1973-06-07)7 June 1973 (age 51) Cardiff,Wales, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | |
Najla Mohammed El Mangoush (born 7 June 1973) is aLibyan diplomat and lawyer.[1] She was Libya's foreign minister inAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh's government from 15 March 2021[2] until her dismissal on 28 August 2023.[3] El Mangoush has been Libya'sfirst and only female foreign minister,[4] and the fifth woman to hold the position of a foreign minister in theArab World.
Najla El Mangoush was born inCardiff,Wales, to a family of four children who originated fromLibya, but she grew up inBenghazi, the city to which the family returned, when she was six years old.[5]
El Mangoush was trained as a lawyer atBenghazi University (then Garyounis University) and was later an assistant professor of law at the university. She later obtained a Fulbright Scholarship to theUnited States of America, where she graduated from theCenter for Justice and Peacebuilding atEastern Mennonite University in Virginia.[1]
As a conflict-resolution expert, she was the country representative in Libya forUnited States Institute of Peace.[1]
She has served as the Program Officer for Peace-building and Traditional Law at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution in Arlington, Virginia.[1]
During theFirst Libyan Civil War, she headed theNational Transitional Council's (NTC) Public Engagement Unit which dealt with civil society organisations.[1]
On 15 March 2021 she became the foreign minister in Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh's cabinet, which is a part of thegovernment of national unity. She is the first female foreign minister of Libya and the fifth to hold such a position in the Arab World afterNaha Mint Mouknass (2009–2011) andVatma Vall Mint Soueina (2015) of Mauritania,Fawzia Yusuf H. Adam (2012–2014) of Somalia andAsma Mohamed Abdalla (2019–2020) of Sudan.[2]
In May 2021, she came under pressure to resign and been subjected to personal abuse after she calledTurkey to comply with the UN resolutions and withdraw the Turkish troops and mercenaries from Libya.[6]
On 6 November 2021, thePresidential Council suspended Mangoush on charges of carrying out foreign policy without coordination with the council. She was also barred from traveling.[7]Prime MinisterAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh disputed[8][9] the right of the Presidential Council to suspend Mangoush, saying the power to appoint or suspend ministers in his government is his exclusive preserve.
After the announcement of a meeting between Mangoush and Israeli Foreign MinisterEli Cohen in Italy on 27 August 2023, she was suspended, and an investigation was opened against her.[10] On 28 August, she was dismissed from Dbeibeh's cabinet.[3] She fled Libya first to Turkey and later London, where her family resides, the same day out of fear for her safety amid a growing uproar inTripoli over the issue.[11]
On December 7, 2021, Mangoush was named in theBBC 100 Women 2021 list for her work onbuilding links with civil society organisations.[12] In 2022, Mangoush received theInternational Women of Courage Award from theUnited States Department of State.[13]
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